1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus of preengaging a receipt and payment of money in monetary facilities such as a bank.
2. Description of the Related Art
To carry out a receipt and payment of money in monetary facilities, automatic cash dealing apparatuses (or cash dispensers) are now frequently employed.
Each of such automatic cash dealing apparatuses typically includes the following components constructed by an integrated structure; a media receiving and discharging portion consisting of a card insertion hole, a passbook insertion hole and a cash receipt and payment hole; an operation portion consisting of a display unit indicating operating procedures and an inputting unit for selecting a grade of a transaction and for inputting a secret identification number or an amount of money for receipt and payment; a reading and recording portion for reading an identification card and recording data on a passbook; a cash receipt and payment mechanism receiving cash from or paying cash to a cash container in response to the transactions of the money receipt and payment; and a control portion controlling the operation of the portions set forth above. The automatic cash dealing apparatus communicates with a central computer installed in a central location through a communication channel in response to the grade of the dealing requested through the operation portion by a customer, and carries out the processing for a receipt and payment of money with reference to the balance data recorded on the account ledger.
When a customer, i.e., a user, uses the typical automatic cash dealing apparatus, the user is subjected to troublesome operations such as insertion of an identification card, selection of a grade of the transaction setting of the user's secret identification number, and setting of an amount of receipt or payment of money. Accordingly, a considerable amount of operation time is required between a time when the user start the operation and a time when the user complete the operation for a deposit or a receipt of money. Because of the number of steps which the user must take, it is very difficult to shorten the overall operation time of the automatic cash dealing apparatus required for each transaction. As a result, a long waiting line by users may be formed in front of the automatic cash dealing apparatus when many users use the automatic cash dealing apparatus during rush hour periods such as lunch time or immediately after work has finished. Under these circumstances the transactions by the automatic cash dealing apparatus may be discontinued due to a lack of money stored in the automatic cash dealing apparatus. Furthermore, users who are not familiar with handling the automatic cash dealing apparatus, such as the aged, may misoperate the apparatus because of mental pressure due to the long waiting line, and this misoperation may further result in increasing the long waiting line.
To overcome the these disadvantages, a system for preengaging a receipt and payment of money which improves the serviceability for the user is disclosed in JP-A-57-178558.
The system for preengaging a receipt and/or payment of money disclosed in JP-A-57-178558 previously receives preengagement data such as a deposit account number, a secret identification number and an amount of money to be payed in accordance with a preengagement for a payment by a telephone call by a user. The system then determines whether or not the payment is valid, and registers the preengagement data when the preengagement data is valid. Thereafter, the user who requested the preengagement goes to a place where the automatic cash dealing apparatus is located, and inserts an identification card into the automatic cash dealing apparatus in which the preengagement data is registered to receive the requested money.
In accordance with the above mentioned system for preengaging a receipt and/or payment of money, the user can preengage the transactions for the receipt of money through the telephone at a suitable time and in a any place without going to a place where the automatic cash dealing apparatus is located and without an input operating of the data to the automatic cash dealing apparatus, and can receive the preengaged money by inserting the identification card into the automatic cash dealing apparatus at a any time after the registration of the preengagement.
In the system for preengaging a receipt and/or payment of money, the preengagement data input by the user through the telephone is sent to a central processing apparatus to determine whether or not the payment is valid. In determining the validity of the preengagement request, only a check of the validity of the secret identification number and the sufficiency of an amount of money on deposit against the requested payment are carried out. If the preengagement request for payment is deemed to be invalid by the determination, for example, due to a mismatch of the input secret identification number or a lack of sufficient funds on deposit against the payment, such input operations can be repeated several times to correct the preengagement. However, when the user fails to obtain acceptance of the request during the telephone preengagement, the telephone communication line is automatically disconnected, and accordingly, the telephone preengagement can not be accepted.